LCD and method of manufacture thereof

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a manufacturing method or a structure capable of reducing occurrence of sealing defects and breaking defects by resolving defects in form of a joined area between a sealing material and an anisotropic conductive material. A sealing material ( 2 ) is formed in such a manner as to superimpose ends ( 2   b ) on alignment marks ( 15 ) formed on the surface of a first substrate ( 6   a ), an anisotropic conductive material is formed in such a manner as to superimpose ends  3   b  on alignment marks ( 16 ) formed on the surface of a second substrate ( 6   b ), and the sealing material  2  and the anisotropic conductive material ( 3 ) are joined by bonding the first substrate ( 6   a ) and the second substrate ( 6   b ) to form one-piece sealing section ( 4 ).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a liquid crystal device suitably usedfor displaying images, such as letters, numeric characters, andpictures, by controlling the orientation of liquid crystals sealedbetween a pair of substrates. The present invention also relates to amethod for manufacturing the liquid crystal device.

2. Background Art

In general, liquid crystal devices are formed by attaching anilluminating device, such as a backlight, and a liquid crystal-drivingIC to a liquid crystal panel. The liquid crystal panel is formed bybonding a pair of substrates formed with electrodes across a sealingsection so that the electrodes oppose each other, by sealing liquidcrystal in a cell gap formed between the electrodes, and by bondingpolarizers on the outside surfaces of the substrates.

One of the pair of substrates may be provided with a substrateprotrusion protruding toward the outer periphery from the othersubstrate, and a wiring terminal section conductively connected to anelectrode formed on the inside surface of the substrate may be formed onthe surface of the substrate protrusion. To the wiring terminal section,a liquid crystal-driving IC may be directly mounted, and a conductiveconnecting member, such as a flexible printed circuit board (FPC),conductively connected to the liquid crystal-driving IC may be mounted.

In a conventional liquid crystal device, a part of the above sealingsection for sealing liquid crystal is constituted by an anisotropicconductive material. The anisotropic conductive material is formed by,for example, mixing conductive particles into a medium, such as resin.As the conductive particles, conductive particles such as metal, orsynthetic resin particles whose outer surfaces are coated by conductivelayers such as plated films, are used.

The anisotropic conductive material constituting a part of the sealingsection is used for connecting electrodes formed on the other substrateopposed to the substrate having the substrate protrusion to the wiringterminal section formed on the substrate protrusion.

A sealing material and the anisotropic conductive material are appliedon the surface of the substrate, respectively, by printing or the like.Usually, the sealing material is applied on the surface of onesubstrate, and the anisotropic conductive material is applied on thesurface of the other substrate. By bonding the pair of substrates toeach other, the sealing material and the anisotropic conductive materialare joined to each other to form a one-piece sealing section andarranged so as to surround the liquid crystal. The sealing section mustprovide a hermetic seal in order to seal in the liquid crystal.Therefore, ends of the sealing material and the ends of the anisotropicconductive material should be formed at positions accuratelycorresponding to each other.

Thus, in the conventional liquid crystal device, the distance betweenthe ends of the substrates is measured to thereby confirm whether or notthe sealing material and the anisotropic conductive material are formedat correct positions. This is very important in reducing thedisplacement of the sealing material relative to the anisotropicconductive material, and in preventing occurrence of defects in thesealing section, which will be described later.

In addition, in the above conventional liquid crystal device, when thesealing material on one substrate and the anisotropic conductivematerial on the other substrate are joined to each other when thesubstrates are bonded to each other, displacement of the sealingmaterial relative to the anisotropic conductive material, and sealingdefects due to insufficient sealing material or insufficient anisotropicconductive material may occur in joined areas between the sealingmaterial and the anisotropic conductive material, or air bubbles maybecome entrapped into the joined areas lowering sealing strength.

On the other hand, in contrast to the above, by the displacement of thesealing material relative to the anisotropic conductive material, orwhen there is an excess of the sealing material or the anisotropicconductive material, the sealing section in the joined areas may spreadto protrude to the inside and the outside. When the sealing sectionprotrudes to the outside of the joined areas due to an excess of thesealing material in this way, in a substrate breaking process to beperformed later (a process in which large substrates (base substrates)are bonded to each other to form a plurality of liquid crystal panels atone time, scribe lines are formed on the surface of the large basesubstrates, and stress is applied along the scribe lines to break thelarge base substrates), breaking defects may occur when the appliedstress is uneven, whereby a broken-off section is formed at a site notalong the scribe lines.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a structure and amanufacturing method capable of easily confirming the positionalrelationship between a sealing material and an anisotropic conductivematerial in a liquid crystal device having a sealing section composed ofthe sealing material and the anisotropic conductive material joined toeach other as described above.

In addition, it is another object of the present invention to preventdefects in form of a sealing section in joined areas between the sealingmaterial and the anisotropic conductive material caused by displacementof the sealing material relative to the anisotropic conductive material,or by an insufficiency or excess of these materials.

The present invention provides a liquid crystal device comprising liquidcrystal sealed between a pair of substrates bonded by a sealing section;wherein the sealing section is formed so as to surround liquid crystalwith a sealing material and an anisotropic conductive material joined toeach other; and at least one of the pair of substrates is provided withan alignment mark at a position corresponding to the position of thesealing material or the anisotropic conductive material.

Since the alignment mark can be used for confirming the position of atleast one of the sealing material and the anisotropic conductivematerial, the position can be confirmed very easily by visualobservation or the like.

The alignment mark may preferably be provided so as to be at leastpartially superimposed on a joined area between the sealing material andthe anisotropic conductive material, or formed so as to be adjacent tothe joined area. Since the alignment mark and an end of the sealingmaterial or the anisotropic conductive material are arranged close toeach other, by the formation of the alignment mark so as to be at leastpartially superimposed on the joined area between the sealing materialand the anisotropic conductive material, or formed so as to be adjacentto the joined area, positioning can be effected easily when forming thesealing material or the anisotropic conductive material, and theposition can be confirmed very easily and accurately according to thepositional relationship between the end of the sealing material or theanisotropic conductive material.

The alignment mark may preferably be provided on the pair of substrates.By the formation of the alignment mark on both of the pair ofsubstrates, both of the sealing material and the anisotropic conductivematerial can be positioned accurately, and the positions of both of thesealing material and the anisotropic conductive material can beconfirmed.

The joined area between the sealing material and the anisotropicconductive material may preferably have a width substantially the sameas, or narrower than other portions of the sealing material and theanisotropic conductive material. If the sealing material and theanisotropic conductive material are joined, the sealing material and theanisotropic conductive material are superimposed and adhere to eachother in the joined area, whereby the width of the sealing section inthe joined area is usually widened. However, if the width of the sealingsection increases, defects of the sealing section are apt to occur asdescribed above. To avoid this, the ends of the sealing material and theanisotropic conductive material to be joined are formed in such a mannerthat the amount of materials thereof is smaller than that of the otherportions, whereby the width of the sealing section can be madesubstantially the same as the other portions, or narrower than the otherportions.

In addition, the present invention provides a liquid crystal devicecomprising liquid crystal sealed between a pair of substrates bonded bya sealing section; wherein the sealing section is formed so as tosurround liquid crystal with a sealing material and an anisotropicconductive material joined to each other; and at least one of the pairof substrates is provided with an alignment mark formed so as to be atleast partially superimposed on a joined area between the sealingmaterial and the anisotropic conductive material, or formed so as to beadjacent to the joined area.

The alignment mark may preferably be provided on the pair of substrates.

The sealing section may preferably have a width substantially the sameas, or narrower than other portions of the sealing material and theanisotropic conductive material in the joined area between the sealingmaterial and the anisotropic conductive material.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing aliquid crystal device comprising liquid crystal sealed between a pair ofsubstrates bonded by a sealing section; wherein an alignment mark isformed on the surface of at least one of the pair of substrates; one ofa sealing material and an anisotropic conductive material is arranged onthe surface of one of the substrates corresponding to the position ofthe alignment mark; the other one of the sealing material and theanisotropic conductive material is arranged on the surface of the otherone of the substrates; and the pair of substrates are bonded to eachother so that an end of the sealing material and an end of theanisotropic conductive material are joined to each other, and thesealing section is formed in the shape of surrounding liquid crystal bythe sealing material and the anisotropic conductive material joined toeach other.

The alignment mark may preferably be formed so as to be at leastpartially superimposed on a joined area between the sealing material andthe anisotropic conductive material, or formed so as to be adjacent tothe joined area.

At least one of the width and the length of the alignment mark maypreferably be formed to substantially coincide with at least one of thewidth and the length of the sealing material or the anisotropicconductive material. When the width of the alignment mark issubstantially equal to the width of the sealing material or theanisotropic conductive material, or when the length of the alignmentmark is substantially equal to the length of the sealing material or theanisotropic conductive material, the positional relationship between thealignment mark and the sealing material or the anisotropic conductivematerial can be recognized by intuition from the widthwise andlengthwise directions. Therefore, it is possible to confirm the positionof the sealing material or the anisotropic conductive material morepromptly and more accurately.

In each of the above inventions, by forming an alignment markparticularly corresponding to the anisotropic conductive material, theposition of the anisotropic conductive material can be easily confirmed.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing aliquid crystal device comprising liquid crystal sealed between a pair ofsubstrates bonded by a sealing section; wherein an alignment mark isformed on the surface of at least one of the pair of substrates; one ofthe sealing material and the anisotropic conductive material is arrangedon the surface of one of the substrates corresponding to the position ofthe alignment mark; the other one of the sealing material and theanisotropic material is arranged on the surface of the other substrate;an end of at least one of the sealing material and the anisotropicconductive material to be joined to the other one is formed to have awidth thinner than other portions or formed in a thin wall; and the pairof substrates are bonded to each other so that the end of the sealingmaterial and the end of the anisotropic conductive material are jointedto each other, and the sealing section is formed in the shape ofsurrounding liquid crystal by the sealing material and the anisotropicconductive material joined to each other.

By forming the end of the sealing material or the anisotropic conductivematerial to have a width thinner than other portions or in a thin wall,the great increase in the width of the sealing section in the joinedarea between the sealing material and the anisotropic conductivematerial can be suppressed, so that defects caused by the sealingsection can be prevented. The formation of the end of the sealingmaterial or the anisotropic conductive material so as to have a widththinner than other portions is preferable in that it can be easilyrealized from a manufacturing viewpoint such that the width can beeasily controlled when the sealing material or the anisotropicconductive material is formed by printing or the like.

The width of the alignment mark may preferably be formed tosubstantially coincide with the width of the end of at least one of thesealing material and the anisotropic material to be joined to the otherone. By forming the width of the alignment mark so as to substantiallycoincide with the width of at least one of the sealing material and theanisotropic conductive material, the positional relationship between thealignment mark and the sealing material or the anisotropic conductivematerial can be recognized by intuition in the widthwise direction, sothat the position of the sealing material or the anisotropic conductivematerial can be confirmed more promptly and more accurately.

The end of the sealing material and the end of the anisotropicconductive material joined to each other may preferably be formed tohave widths thinner than other portions or formed in thin walls. The endof the sealing material and the end of the anisotropic conductivematerial joined to each other are formed to have widths thinner thanother portions or formed in thin walls, whereby the increase in thewidth of the sealing section can be reduced more effectively in thejoined area between the sealing material and the anisotropic conductivematerial. In particular, it is preferable from a manufacturing viewpointthat the widths of both ends be formed thinner than the other portions.

In addition, the present invention provides a liquid crystal devicecomprising liquid crystal sealed between a pair of substrates bonded bya sealing section; wherein the sealing section is formed so as tosurround liquid crystal with a sealing material and an anisotropicconductive material joined to each other; and a joined area between thesealing material and the anisotropic conductive material is formed tohave a width substantially the same as, or thinner than other portions.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a liquid crystal devicecomprising liquid crystal sealed between a pair of substrates bonded bya sealing section; wherein the sealing section is formed so as tosurround liquid crystal with a sealing material and an anisotropicconductive material joined to each other; and at least one of inner edgeand outer edge in a joined area between the sealing material and theanisotropic conductive material is formed in a flat shape with respectto portions of both sides of the joined area, or in a shape retractedfrom portions of both sides.

The distance between portions of both sides of the joined area and anouter edge of a liquid crystal display area formed inside the sealingsection may preferably be formed longer than the distance between theportions of both sides of the joined area and a substrate outer edgelocated outside the sealing section; and an outer edge of the joinedarea may preferably be formed in a flat shape with respect to theportions of both sides of the joined area, or in a shape retracted fromportions of both sides. In the case where the distance between theportions of both sides of the joined area and the substrate outer edgeis shorter than the distance between the portions of both sides of thejoined area and the outer edge of the liquid crystal display area, whenforming the substrate outer edge by breaking substrate base materialsafter bonding a pair of large-area substrate base materials by thesealing section, if the sealing section expands outward (toward a breakpredetermined line) in the joined area between the sealing material andthe anisotropic conductive material, breaking defects may occur.Therefore, when the outer edge of the sealing section in the joined areabetween the sealing material and the anisotropic conductive material isformed in a flat shape with respect to portions of both sides of thejoined area, or in a shape retracted with respect to the portions ofboth sides, the sealing section does not expand to the outside, so thatthe risk of occurrence of breaking defects of the substrate in themanufacturing step is reduced. In this case, the inner edge of thejoined area may protrude inward from the portions of both ends of thejoined area.

In contrast to the above, the distance between portions of both sides ofthe joined area and an outer edge of a liquid crystal display areaformed inside the sealing section may preferably be formed shorter thanthe distance between portions of both sides of the joined area and asubstrate outer edge located outside the sealing section; and an inneredge of the joined area may preferably be formed in a flat shape withrespect to the portions of both sides of the joined area, or in a shaperetracted from portions of both sides. In the case where the distancebetween the portions of both sides of the joined area between thesealing material and the anisotropic conductive material and the outeredge of the liquid crystal display area is shorter than the distancebetween the portions of both ends of the joined area and the substrateouter edge, if the sealing section expands inward in the joined area,the sealing section approaches the outer edge of the liquid crystaldisplay area formed inside the sealing section in the joined area, sothat the cell gap of the outer periphery of the liquid display area canbe easily affected. Therefore, the inner edge of the sealing section inthe joined area is formed in a flat shape with respect to the portionsof both sides of the joined area, or in a shape retracted from theportions of both sides, whereby the adverse effect on the cell gap ofthe outer periphery of the liquid crystal display area is prevented. Inthis case, the outer edge of the joined area may protrude from theportions of both sides of the joined area.

The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a liquidcrystal device comprising liquid crystal sealed between a pair ofsubstrates bonded by a sealing section; wherein one of a sealingmaterial and an anisotropic conductive material is arranged on thesurface of one of the substrates; the other one of the sealing materialand the anisotropic conductive material is arranged on the surface ofthe other one of the substrates; an end of at least one of the sealingmaterial and the anisotropic conductive material to be joined to theother one is formed to have a width thinner than other portions orformed in a thin wall; and the pair of substrates are bonded to eachother so that the end of the sealing material and the end of theanisotropic conductive material are jointed to each other, and thesealing section is formed in the shape of surrounding liquid crystal bythe sealing material and the anisotropic conductive material joined toeach other.

The ends formed to have a width thinner than the other portions maypreferably be formed in a shape such that both of an inner edge and anouter edge thereof are retracted from other portions.

In addition, the distance between portions of both sides of a joinedarea between the sealing material and the anisotropic conductivematerial and an outer edge of a liquid crystal display area formedinside the sealing section may preferably be formed longer than thedistance between the portions of both sides of the joined area and asubstrate outer edge located outside the sealing section; and an outeredge of the end formed to have a width thinner than the other portionsmay preferably be formed in a flat shape with respect to the otherportions, or formed in a shape retracted from the portions of both sidesof the joined area.

In contrast to the above, the distance between portions of both sides ofa joined area between the sealing material and the anisotropicconductive material and an outer edge of a liquid crystal display areaformed inside the sealing section may preferably be formed shorter thanthe distance between the portions of both sides of the joined area and asubstrate outer edge located outside the sealing section; and an inneredge of the end formed to have a width thinner than the other portionsmay preferably be formed in a flat shape with respect to the otherportions, or formed in a shape retracted from the portions of both sidesof the joined area.

Furthermore, in the above invention, the alignment mark may preferablybe formed of the same transparent conductive member as transparentelectrodes and wiring formed on the surfaces of the substrates. Thealignment mark may preferably be formed at the same time of theformation of the transparent electrodes and wiring on the surfaces ofthe substrates.

In addition, it is preferable in accurately confirming the position ofthe sealing material or the anisotropic conductive material that all ofthe alignment mark be substantially superimposed on the end of thesealing material or the anisotropic conductive material.

Furthermore, the end of the sealing material and the end of theanisotropic conductive material may preferably be formed in the sameshape so as to be superimposed each other when the substrates are bondedto each other. The end of the sealing material and the end of theanisotropic conductive material joined to each other are formed in thesame shape, whereby formation of air bubbles in the sealing section inthe joined area, or occurrence of sealing defects can be prevented evenif the slight displacement of the position of the sealing materialrelative to the position of the anisotropic conductive material occurs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partly broken plan view showing the structure of a liquidcrystal panel that is a principal part of an embodiment of a liquidcrystal device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view schematically showing a cross sectionalstructure of the panel in a section taken along the line II—II in FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of one substrate constituting the liquid crystalpanel shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the other substrate constituting the liquidcrystal panel shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in a halfway of manufacturing thesubstrate shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state in a halfway of manufacturing thesubstrate shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an embodiment of a method formanufacturing a liquid crystal device according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view schematically showing an example of a pair of basesubstrates used in the manufacturing method shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing an enlarged plane in a halfway ofmanufacturing in a portion corresponding to the area IX surrounded bytwo-dot chain line shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 includes diagrams showing an enlarged plane before joining andan enlarged plane after joining for showing an example of the shape of ajoint portion between a sealing material and an anisotropic conductivematerial.

FIG. 11 includes diagrams showing an enlarged plane before joining andan enlarged plane after joining for showing another example of the shapeof a joint portion between a sealing material and an anisotropicconductive material.

FIG. 12 includes diagrams showing enlarged planes A to E showing thepositional relationship between alignment marks and ends of the sealingmaterial and the anisotropic conductive material.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged plan view showing a state before joining of afurther example of the shape of a joint portion between the sealingmaterial and the anisotropic conductive material.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged plan view showing the state after the sealingmaterial and the anisotropic conductive material shown in FIG. 13 arejoined.

FIG. 15 is a schematic plan view schematically showing an example of theshape of a sealing material and an anisotropic conductive material.

FIG. 16 is a schematic plane view schematically showing another exampleof the shape of a sealing material and an anisotropic conductivematerial.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of amobile phone that is an example of an electronic device containing theliquid crystal device of the above embodiment.

PREFERRED MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Description will now be given of a preferred mode for carrying out theinvention.

FIG. 1 shows a liquid crystal panel 1 that is a principal part of aliquid crystal device of an embodiment according to the presentinvention. FIG. 2 shows a panel structure of the liquid crystal panel 1by a section taken along the line II—II in FIG. 1. The liquid crystaldevice of this embodiment are formed by attaching an illuminatingdevice, such as a backlight, for illuminating the liquid crystal panelfrom behind, a liquid crystal driving circuit, such as a liquidcrystal-driving IC, for driving the liquid crystal panel, aconductive-connecting member, such as a flexible printed circuit board,for conductive-connecting the liquid crystal panel to the outside, andother various types of additional devices to the liquid crystal panel 1.

The liquid crystal panel 1 includes a cell structure such that a sealingmaterial 2 and an anisotropic conductive material 3 are joined so as tobe connected to each other and consequently, a first substrate 6 a and asecond substrate 6 b are bonded by an annularly formed sealing section4. The sealing material 2 is formed in a predetermined shape by printingor the like using epoxy resin as a material. The anisotropic conductivematerial 3 has conductive particles 8 dispersed in a non-conductiveresin material 7, as shown in FIG. 2.

The first substrate 6 a has first electrodes 9 a formed on the insidesurface of a first substrate material 12 a, that is, the surfaceopposing the second substrate 6 b, an overcoat layer 13 a formedthereon, and an alignment layer 14 a formed thereon. On the other hand,the second substrate 6 b has second electrodes 9 b formed on the insidesurface of a second substrate material 12 b, that is, the surfaceopposing the first substrate 6 a, an overcoat layer 13 b formed thereon,and an alignment layer 14 b formed thereon. In FIG. 1, in order toeasily understand the structure, the alignment layers and overcoatlayers are omitted for convenience.

The first substrate material 12 a and the second substrate material 12 bare formed by a light-transmitting material, such as glass, syntheticresin, and the like. The first electrodes 9 a and the second electrodes9 b are formed by a light-transmitting conductive material, such as ITO(Indium Tin Oxide). The overcoat layer 13 a and the overcoat layer 13 bare formed of, for example, silicon oxide, titanium oxide, or a mixtureincluding them. The alignment layer 14 a and the 14 b are formed of, forexample, polyimide resin.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first electrodes 9 a are formed as a pluralityof linear wiring patterns, and the second electrodes 9 b are formed as aplurality of wiring patterns extending in a direction intersectingperpendicularly to the first electrodes 9 a. The first electrodes 9 aand the second electrodes 9 b are arranged parallel to each other, in aso-called stripe shape. Areas where the first electrodes 9 a and thesecond electrodes 9 b intersect each other serve as pixels arranged in adot matrix, and a liquid crystal display area is constituted by thecollection of these pixels.

The first substrate 6 a includes a substrate protrusion 6 c protrudingto the outside from the outer edge of the second substrate 6 b. A wiringterminal section 11 consisting of a plurality of linear wiring patternsis formed on the surface of the substrate protrusion 6 c. FIG. 5 is aplan view of the first substrate 6 a formed with the first electrodes 9a. A plurality of first terminals 11 a arranged in the center of thefirst electrodes 9 a and the wiring terminal section 11 are integrallyformed on the surfaces of the first electrodes 6 a, and a plurality ofsecond terminals 11 b are provided on both sides of the wiring terminalsection 11. Furthermore, alignment marks 15 each having a pair of squareplane shape are provided on both inner ends of the second terminal 11 b.All of them are formed of a transparent conductive member, such as ITO,by sputtering or the like.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sealing material 2 is formed on the surface ofthe first substrate 6 a along the outer edge of the substrate. Thesealing material 2 is formed substantially in the shape of O except theportions P where the inner edges of the second terminal 11 b is arranged(hereinafter, simply referred to as “vertical conduction areas”). Aliquid crystal injection port 2 a is formed in a part of the sealingmaterial 2. Furthermore, ends 2 b adjacent to the vertical conductionareas are formed at positions just above the alignment marks 15. In FIG.3, the overcoat layer 13 a and the alignment layer 14 a are alsoomitted.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the second substrate 6 b after the secondelectrodes 9 b are formed thereon. A number of second electrodes 9 b areformed on the surface of the second substrate 6 b in the form ofstripes, and the second electrodes 9 b extend to the vertical conductionareas P through the periphery of the second substrate. In addition,alignment marks 16 are simultaneously formed on both sides of thevertical conduction areas P. The second electrodes 9 b and the alignmentmarks 16 are simultaneously formed of a transparent conductive member,such as ITO, by sputtering or the like.

On the second substrate 6 b, as shown in FIG. 4, the anisotropicconductive materials 3 are formed on the vertical conduction areas P byprinting or the like. The anisotropic conductive materials 3 are formedso that their ends 3 b are arranged at positions just above thealignment marks 16.

In this embodiment, as described above, whether or not the anisotropicconductive materials 3 are formed at normal positions can be accuratelydetermined by visual observation with reference to the position of theabove alignment marks 16. In the conventional liquid crystal device,since the position of the anisotropic conductive material 3 should beconfirmed by measuring the size of the device with reference to the endside of the second substrate 6 b, the operation becomes complicated anda measurement error is apt to occur. In this embodiment, however, suchinconveniences do not occur.

In this embodiment, since the ends 2 b of the sealing material 2 can bepositioned by the alignment marks 15, and the ends 3 b of theanisotropic conductive material 3 can be positioned by the alignmentmarks 16, the sealing material 2 and the anisotropic conductive material3 can be securely joined, and sealing defects can be prevented.

In particular, since whether or not the sealing material 2 is formed ata normal position can be easily confirmed with reference to thepositions of the alignment marks 15 in a manner similar to theanisotropic conductive material 3 as described above, manufacturingefficiency of the liquid crystal panel can be improved, and theoccurrence of defects of the sealing section can be prevented.

Although a number of first electrodes 9 a, the second electrodes 9 b,and terminals 11 a and 11 b of the wiring terminal section 11 areactually formed at very narrow intervals, the intervals are widely shownin order to easily understand the structure, and many substances areomitted in FIGS. 1 to 6.

In order to manufacture the liquid crystal panel 1 shown in FIG. 1, thesecond substrate 9 b shown in FIG. 4 is turned over from the state shownin the figure, and is superimposed on the first substrate 6 a shown inFIG. 3, and the first substrate 6 a and the second substrate 6 b arebonded to each other via the sealing material 2 and the anisotropicconductive material 3. In this case, relative positions of both of thesubstrates are determined so that the vertical conduction areas P of thefirst substrate 6 a and the second substrate 6 b accurately coincidewith each other. By adjusting both of the substrates so that thealignment marks 15 and the alignment marks 16 are positioned in apredetermined relation to each other in two dimensions, accuratepositioning can be effected. In this embodiment, both of the substratesare formed in advance so that the alignment marks 15 and 16 completelycoincide with each other in two dimensions in a normal bonding state.Therefore, by determining the positions so that the alignment marks 15and 16 are completely superimposed on each other, both of the substratescan be easily and securely bonded in the accurate positionalrelationship.

Thereafter, the first substrate 6 a and the second substrate 6 b arepress-bonded by applying a predetermined pressure and heated in thepress-bonded state, whereby the sealing material 2 and the anisotropicconductive material 3 are thermally hardened, and the first substrate 6a and the second substrate 6 b are fixed to each other. In this case, inthe above vertical conduction areas P, the ends 2 b of the sealingmaterial 2 and the ends 3 b of the anisotropic conductive material 3 aresuperimposed on each other, and joined by application of pressure,whereby one-piece sealing section 4 is formed. In addition, in thevertical conduction areas P, the anisotropic conductive material 3 comesinto contact with the second terminals 11 b on the first substrate 6 aand the second electrodes 9 b on the second substrate 6 b, and both ofthe substrates are press-bonded, whereby the second terminals 11 b andthe second electrodes 9 b are conductively connected to each other viathe conductive particles 8 mixed into the anisotropic conductivematerial 3.

Furthermore, liquid crystal is injected inside the liquid crystal panel1 through the liquid crystal injection port 2 a shown in FIG. 1, and theliquid crystal injection port 2 a is sealed with resin after thecompletion of injection. Finally, polarizers 17 a and 17 b are bonded onthe outside surfaces of the first substrate 6 a and the second substrate6 b, as shown in FIG. 2, whereby the liquid crystal panel 1 iscompleted.

A conductive-connection member, such as a flexible wiring circuit board(not shown) is conductively connected to the wiring terminal section 11on the substrate protrusion 6 c of the thus-manufactured liquid crystalpanel 1, and an illuminating device, such as a backlight, is disposed onone of the outside surfaces of the first substrate 6 a and the secondsubstrate 6 b to oppose the other outside surface, a liquid crystaldevice is constituted. A light reflector may be disposed instead of theilluminating device to constitute a reflective liquid crystal device.

When operating the liquid crystal device, a scanning voltage is appliedto either of the first electrodes 9 a and the second electrodes 9 b by aliquid crystal-driving IC, and a data voltage is applied to the otherelectrodes 9 a and 9 b by the liquid crystal-driving IC. This allows thescanning voltage and the data voltage to be applied to both sides of theliquid crystal in a pixel, and orientation of the liquid crystal in thepixel is changed, whereby light passing through the pixel is modulated.As a result, a desired image can be formed by light modulation states ofmany pixels arranged within a liquid crystal display area.

Description will now be given in more detail of a method formanufacturing the liquid crystal panel 1 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 7 shows aprocess of one embodiment of the method for manufacturing the liquidcrystal panel 1. The first substrate 6 a shown in FIG. 3 is formedthrough the processes P1 to P5. More specifically, a plurality of panelpredetermined areas 6 a′ are set on the surface of a large-area firstsubstrate base material 12 a′ shown in FIG. 8 that is formed of glass orsynthetic resin, and a transparent conductive member, such as ITO, isbonded by sputtering or the like so that the first electrodes 9 a, thealignment marks 15, and the wiring terminal section 11 formed on thesurface of the first substrate 6 a shown in FIG. 3 are formed for eachof the panel predetermined areas 6 a′, and then a pattern is formedusing a known patterning method, for example, a photolithography method(process P1).

Next, the overcoat layer 13 a is formed by, for example, offset printingusing silicon oxide, titanium oxide, or a mixture including them as amaterial (process P2). The alignment layer 14 a is formed thereon by,for example, offset printing using polyimide resin or the like as amaterial (process P3). Rubbing treatment is applied to the alignmentlayer 14 a by a method such that the surface is rubbed with a rubbingroller (process P4). Thereafter, the sealing material 2 is formed by,for example, screen printing, so that the pattern shown in FIG. 3 isformed for each of the panel predetermined areas 6 a′ (process P5).

On the other hand, the second substrate 6 b shown in FIG. 4 is formedthrough the processes P6 to P10. More specifically, a plurality of panelpredetermined areas 6 b′ are set on the surface of a large-area secondsubstrate base material 12 b′ shown in FIG. 8 that is formed of glass orsynthetic resin, and a transparent conductive member, such as ITO, isbonded by sputtering or the like so that the second electrodes 9 b andthe alignment marks 16 formed on the surface of the second substrate 6 bshown in FIG. 4 are formed for each of the panel predetermined areas 6b′, and then a pattern is formed using a known patterning method, forexample, a photolithography method (process P6).

Next, the overcoat layer 13 b is formed by, for example, offset printingusing silicon oxide, titanium oxide, or a mixture including them as amaterial (process P7). The alignment layer 14 b is formed thereon by,for example, offset printing using polyimide resin or the like as amaterial (process P8). Rubbing treatment is applied to the alignmentlayer 14 a by a method such that the surface is rubbed with a rubbingroller (process P9). Thereafter, the anisotropic conductive material 3is formed by, for example, screen printing, so that the pattern shown inFIG. 4 is formed for each of the panel predetermined areas 6 b′ (processP10).

The first substrate base material 12 a′ and the second substrate basematerial 12 b′ formed as described above are then bonded to each otherin an aligned state, and are subjected to press-bonding treatment, thatis, heating treatment and pressure treatment, whereby they are fixed toeach other by the sealing material 2 and the anisotropic conductivematerial 3 (process P11). In this way, a large-area panel structureincluding a plurality of liquid crystal panel structures is formed.

Then, the large-area panel structure is subjected to primary break toseparate the panel structure in the form of strips, and the liquidcrystal injection port 2 a formed in a part of the sealing material 2 isexposed to the outside (process P12), liquid crystal is injected intoeach of the liquid crystal panel portions through the liquid crystalinjection port 2 a, and the liquid crystal injection port 2 a is sealedwith resin after the completion of injection (process P13). Thereafter,a secondary break is executed to separate potions corresponding to theliquid crystal panel 1 shown in FIG. 1 from each other (process P14).

Description will now be given of a detail structure of the aboveembodiment according to the present invention with reference to FIG. 9.FIG. 9 shows the enlarged planar structure of a portion corresponding tothe portion within the area ‡\ in FIG. 1.

The sealing material 2 is formed so that the ends 2 b are arranged onthe alignment marks 15 formed on the first substrate base material 12a′, the anisotropic conductive material 3 is formed so that the ends 3 bare arranged on the alignment marks 16 formed on the second substratebase material 12 b′, the sealing material 2 and the anisotropicconductive material 3 are joined in joined areas T where the ends 2 band the ends 3 b are superimposed on each other, and the one-piecesealing section 4 is provided.

In addition, the pixels P constituted as areas where the firstelectrodes 9 a intersect the second electrodes 9 b are arranged in a dotmatrix inside the liquid crystal display area D. In addition, withrespect to the panel structure composed of the bonded first substratebase material and the second substrate base material, scribe lines(grooves) are formed on the surfaces of the substrates along the breakpredetermined line S in order to form the liquid crystal panel 1 shownin FIG. 1. Stress is applied along the scribe lines, whereby the secondsubstrate base material is broken.

In this embodiment, the outer edge of the liquid crystal display area Dis arranged inside the sealing section 4 consisting of the sealingmaterial 2 and the anisotropic conductive material 3, and the breakpredetermined line S are arranged outside of the sealing section 4. Ifthe distance L1 between both sides of the joined areas T in the sealingsection 4 is compared with the distance L2 between the both sides of thejoined areas T in the sealing section 4 and the break predetermined lineS, the distance L1 is longer than the distance L2 in this embodiment.

Since the ends 2 b of the sealing material 2 and the ends 3 b of theanisotropic conductive material 3 are superimposed on each other, if theends 2 b and 3 b are formed on the first substrate base material 12 a′and the second substrate base material 12 b′ so as to have the samethickness as the thickness of the portion other than the ends, the widthof the joined areas T in the sealing section 4 is increased to be widerthan the width of the portions other than the joined areas T whenbonding the first substrate base material 12 a′ and the second substratebase material 12 b′ are bonded, so that the sealing section 4 in thearea is formed so as to expand both inward and outward.

In this embodiment, the ends 2 b of the sealing material 2 and the ends3 b are formed in such a manner that the amount of materials thereof issmaller than that of the other portions, and the width of the sealingsection 4 in the joined areas T is about equal to the width of othersealing section 4. As a result, the sealing section 4 in the joined areaT expands both inward and outward.

When the inner edge of the sealing section 4 expands inward in thejoined areas T, approach of the sealing section 4 to the outer edge ofthe liquid crystal display area D, or entry of the sealing section 4into the liquid crystal display area D when the distance L1 is short isprevented. Since the change in the width of the sealing section 4 in thejoined areas T affects the cell gap in the liquid crystal display areaD, the grade of the image of liquid crystal display is affected. Inaddition, if the sealing section 4 enters into the liquid crystaldisplay area D, a portion incapable of displaying is partially generatedin the outer edge of the liquid crystal display area D, therebyproducing a defective.

Conversely, if the outer edge of the sealing section 4 greatly expandsoutward in the joined areas T, the sealing section 4 may reach the breakpredetermined line S. In particular, since the distance L2 is shorterthan the distance L1, the possibility for the sealing section 4 to reachthe break predetermined line S is higher than the possibility forreaching the outer edge of the liquid crystal display area D. If theouter edge of the sealing section 4 reaches the break predetermined lineS, when applying stress to break the second substrate base materialalong the scribe lines after forming the scribe lines along the breakpredetermined line S, the broken-off section may bend from the portioncontacting the sealing section 4 to cause breaking defects. In addition,even if breaking of the substrate material is completed, both sides of abreak line may be fixed by the sealing section 4, whereby the secondsubstrate base material cannot be separated.

In this embodiment, since the sealing section 4 in the joined areas T isformed to have the substantially same width as the width of otherportions other than the joined areas T, the above-describedinconveniences do not occur, and defects caused by the sealing section 4can be prevented.

Description will now be given of an example of end shape of the sealingmaterial and the anisotropic conductive material in the aboveembodiment. This example relates to the end shape of the sealingmaterial and the anisotropic conductive material for forming the widthof the sealing section 4 in the joined areas T so as not to increasewith respect to the width of the sealing section 4 other than the joinedareas T, forming the width of the sealing section 4 in the joined areasT so as to be about equal to the width of the sealing section 4 otherthan the joined areas T, or forming the width of the sealing section 4so as to be smaller than the width of the sealing section 4 other thanthe joined areas T. Therefore, this example includes the liquid crystalpanel structure similar to the above embodiment, and differs from theabove embodiment only in the structure of the sealing section composedof the sealing material and the anisotropic conductive material.

FIG. 10 includes enlarged plan views of the planar shape near joinedareas between a sealing material and an anisotropic conductive materialbefore and after bonding substrates, respectively. Ends 22 b of asealing material 22 and ends 23 b of an anisotropic conductive material23 are formed to have narrower widths of portions other than the ends 22b and 23 b. For this reason, when the sealing material 22 and theanisotropic conductive material 23 are joined to each other by bondingthe substrates, the width of a sealing section 24 in joined areas Tbecomes narrower than twice the width of the sealing section 24 otherthan the joined areas T. In the example shown in the figure, the widthof the sealing section 4 in the joined areas T is narrower than thewidth of other portions.

The end shape of the sealing material and the anisotropic conductivematerial in this case can be easily formed by printing similar to theabove description. In addition, the end shape can also be easily formedwith the use of a precise dispenser that is formed so that the sealingmaterial or the anisotropic conductive material is accommodated and amaterial is injected from a nozzle by applying a pressure.

Description will now be given of another example of the end shape of thesealing material and the anisotropic conductive material in the aboveembodiment with reference to FIG. 11. Similarly to the above example,this example also differs from the above embodiment only in the vicinityof the joined areas between the sealing material and the anisotropicconductive material. FIG. 11 includes a sectional view showing the endshape of the sealing material and the anisotropic conductive materialbefore bonding the substrates, and a plan view after bonding thesubstrate.

As shown in FIG. 11, before bonding the substrate, ends 32 b of asealing material 32 formed on a first substrate base material 12 a′ andends 33 b of a sealing material 33 provided on a second substrate basematerial 12 b′ are formed to be thinner than portions other than theends 32 b and 33 b. Even if the ends 32 b of the sealing material 32 andthe ends 33 b of the anisotropic conductive material 33 are superimposedand joined to each other when bonding the first substrate base material12 a′ and the second substrate base material 12 b′, this may allow thewidth of a sealing section 34 to slightly increase as compared toportions other than the joined areas T, and inconveniences due toexpansion of the sealing section does not occur.

The end shape of the sealing material and the anisotropic conductivematerial can be easily formed with the use of a precise dispenser thatis formed so that the sealing material or the anisotropic conductivematerial is accommodated and a material is injected from a nozzle byapplying a pressure.

In either of the above two examples, when joining the ends of thesealing material and the ends of the anisotropic material by decreasingthe amount of materials at the ends of the sealing material and theanisotropic conductive material, the increasing amount of the width ofthe sealing section in the joined areas with respect to the width ofother portions can be restricted, the width of the sealing section inthe joined areas can be made substantially equal to the width of otherportions, or the width of the sealing section in the joined areas can bemade narrower than the width of the other portions.

Description will be given of the relationship between the planar shapesof the alignment marks 15 and 16 and the planar shapes of the ends ofthe sealing material 2 and the anisotropic conductive material 3 in theabove embodiment with reference to FIG. 12.

The alignment mark 15 of this embodiment includes the planar structureof a rectangle (or a square) having end sides extending in a directionof extension of the sealing material 2 and the anisotropic conductivematerial 3 and in a direction intersecting perpendicularly to thedirection of extension (A). In the figure, the length of the alignmentmark 15 in the direction of extension is indicated as L15, and the widthin the direction intersecting perpendicularly to the direction ofextension is indicated as W15.

In contrast, the end 2 b of the sealing material 2 are formed to havewidths thinner than portions other than the ends in a mannersubstantially similar to the example shown in FIG. 10. In the figure,the length of the end 2 b formed in a thin width is indicated as L2 b,and the width of the end 2 b is indicated as W2 b (B). The length L2 bof the end 2 b is formed so as to be substantially equal to the lengthL15 of the alignment mark 15. In addition, the width W2 b of the end 2 bis formed so as to be substantially equal to the width W15 of thealignment mark 15. Here, substantially being equal means of being equalto such a degree that the displacement of the alignment mark 15 relativeto the end 2 b can be easily known by visible observation. For example,it is preferable that the difference in the size of the two be within±50%.

The alignment mark 16 includes the planar structure of a rectangle (or asquare) having end sides extending in a direction of extension of thesealing material 2 and the anisotropic conductive material 3 and in adirection intersecting perpendicularly to the direction of extension(C). The length in the direction of extension is taken as L16, and thewidth in the direction intersecting perpendicularly to the direction ofextension is taken as W16.

On the other hand, the end 3 b of the anisotropic conductive material 3is also formed to have a width thinner than a portion other than theend. The length L3 b of the end 3 b is formed so as to be substantiallyequal to the length L16 of the alignment mark 16, and the width W3 b ofthe end 3 b is formed so as to be substantially equal to the width W16of the alignment mark (D).

The sizes of the ends 2 b and 3 b are formed so as to be substantiallyequal to the sizes of the alignment marks 15 and 16 as described above,whereby alignment can be easily effected. In addition, when the sealingmaterial 2 and the anisotropic conductive material 3 are formed on thealignment marks 15 and 16, whether or not the ends 2 b and 3 b areformed at normal positions with respect to the alignment marks 15 and 16can be determined very easily.

While the alignment marks and the ends includes substantially equalsizes on both the length (size in the direction of extension of thesealing section) and the width (size in the direction intersectingperpendicularly to the direction of extension of the sealing section),the above effect can be provided even if the sizes are substantiallyequal to each other with respect to one of the length and the width.

In the above example, as shown in FIG. 12, the widths W2 b and W3 b ofthe ends 2 b and 3 b are formed to be a half of the widths of portionsother than the ends. As a result, when the sealing material 2 and theanisotropic conductive material 3 are joined, the width of the sealingsection in the joined area T is substantially equal to the width of thesealing section other than the joined area (E).

In addition, the above example, the inner edge and the outer edge of theends 2 b and 3 b are formed in a shape retracted from the periphery ofportions other than the ends 2 b and 3 b. That is, the ends 2 b and 3 bare formed so as to be located in the center of the width range of theportion other than the ends. For this reason, when the ends 2 b and 3 bare joined, the sealing section expands in the joined area T with thewidth equal to both the inside and outside (E).

In the above example, the ends 2 b and 3 b are formed so as to be alwayssuperimposed on the positions just above the alignment marks 15 and 16,and the joined area T and alignment marks 15 and 16 are superimposedeach other. However, as shown by two-dot chain lines in B and D of FIG.12, the alignment marks 15 and 16 may be positioned so as to be adjacentto the ends 2 b and 3 b without being superimposed on the ends 2 b and 3b. That is, the sealing material 2 and the anisotropic conductivematerial 3 may be formed so as to be located not at the positions justabove the alignment marks, but at the positions adjacent to thealignment marks. Furthermore, they are formed so that the ends 2 b and 3b are partially superimposed on the alignment marks.

Description will now be given of another example of the end shape of thesealing material and the anisotropic conductive material with referenceto FIGS. 13 and 14. In this example, in a manner to the aboveembodiment, the distance L1 between a sealing material 42 and ananisotropic conductive material 43 and the outer edge of a liquidcrystal display area D is longer than the distance L2 between thesealing material 42 and the anisotropic conductive material 43 and abreak predetermined line S. An end 42 b of the sealing material 42 andan end 43 b of the anisotropic conductive material 43 (shown by one-dotchain line in the figure) joined to the end 42 b have widths thinnerthan portions other than the ends, and the ends 42 b and 43 b are formedto be deviated toward the liquid crystal display area D. That is, theouter edges of the ends 42 b and 43 b are formed in a shape greatlyretracted to the inside from other portions of the sealing material 42and the anisotropic conductive material 43, whereas the inner edges ofthe ends 42 b and 43 b are little retracted to the outside from theother portions.

When the sealing material 42 and the anisotropic conductive material 43formed as described above are joined by bonding substrates, a sealingsection 44 shown in FIG. 14 is formed. In this case, a portion of thesealing section 44 in a joined area formed by joining the ends 42 b and43 b is formed at a position deviated toward the liquid crystal displayarea D from portions of both sides of the joined area T. That is, thesealing section in the joined area T includes the outer edge retractedinward as compared to other portions, and includes the inner edgeprojecting inward as compared to the other portions.

In this example, since the end 42 b of the sealing material 42 and theend 43 b of the anisotropic conductive material 43 are formed in theshape deviated toward the liquid crystal display area D, the sealingsection in the joined area T formed by joining both the ends 42 b and 43b is entirely formed at a position deviated toward the liquid crystaldisplay device from the other portions. As a result, the seal materialis prevented from expanding toward the break predetermined line S set ata position closer to the sealing section rather than the outer edge ofthe liquid crystal display area D.

In all of the above examples, the end of the sealing material and theend of the anisotropic conductive material superimposed each other areformed at substantially coincided positions in the in and out directions(widthwise of the sealing section), and joined by bonding thesubstrates. Therefore, when the end of the seal material and the end ofthe anisotropic conductive material are joined, the ends securely abutagainst each other and are joined even if a slight widthwisedisplacement occurs, so that generation of air bubbles in the sealingsection in the joined area, or occurrence of sealing defects due to thepartial insufficiency of the sealing material is prevented.

In contrast to the above example, the distance L2 between the portionsof both ends of the joined area T of the sealing section 44 and thebreak predetermined line S may be formed longer than the distance L1between the portions of both sides of the joined area T of the sealingsection 44 and the outer edge of the liquid crystal display area D. Inthis case, in contrast to the above, it is preferable that the end ofthe sealing material and the end of the anisotropic conductive materialbe deviated outward so that the portion of the sealing section in thejoined area T does not expand inward.

FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective plan view showing a modification ofthe above embodiment. In a liquid crystal device shown in FIG. 15, asealing material 59 is formed on a first substrate 50 with its both endsfitted to alignment marks 55 and 56, an anisotropic conductive material69 is formed on a second substrate 60 with its both ends fitted toalignment marks 65 and 66, and the first substrate 50 and the secondsubstrate 60 are bonded so that the alignment marks 55 and 56 and thealignment marks 65 and 66 face to each other. A sealing section of aliquid crystal panel formed in this case is constituted in the shape ofa rectangular frame in a plane. The anisotropic conductive material 69constitutes one side of the rectangular frame in a plane, and thesealing material 59 and the anisotropic conductive material 69 arejoined at corners of the rectangular frame shape of the sealing section.

Usually, in a case where a sealing material and an anisotropicconductive material are joined in the middle of a linear portion of thesealing section, if the amount of the sealing material in a joined areais excessive, the sealing material protrude inward or outward of thesealing section. However, in a case where an insulating sealing materialand a conductive sealing material are joined at corners as describedabove, the sealing material can expand in a direction of wider range onthe outside of a joint when ends of both of the sealing materials arecrushed each other. Therefore, even if the amount of the sealingmaterial is somewhat excessive, the amount of protruding of the sealingmaterial to the outside of a liquid crystal sealing area can bedecreased.

In a liquid crystal device shown in FIG. 16, alignment marks 75, 76, 77,and 78 are formed on a first substrate 70, and a sealing material 79having four ends arranged thereon is formed on these alignment marks. Inaddition, alignment marks 85, 86, 87, and 88 are formed on a secondsubstrate 80, and an anisotropic conductive material 89 having four endsarranged thereon is formed on these alignment marks. If the firstsubstrate 70 and the second substrate 80 are bonded, the sealingmaterial 79 and the anisotropic conductive material 89 are joined atfour sections. In this modification, the anisotropic conductive material89 is joined at opposing two sides of the sealing material formed in theshape of a rectangular frame in a plane. A vertical conduction sectionformed by the anisotropic conductive material may be formed in any placeof the sealing section, and may be formed at any section.

In the second substrate 60 shown in FIG. 15 and the second substrate 80shown in FIG. 16, a perspective state is shown in which the alignmentmarks and the sealing materials are formed on the back of a substrate inthe figure.

Finally, as an example of an electronic device according to the presentinvention, description will be given of an example of construction of amobile phone containing a liquid crystal device 100 including the aboveliquid crystal panel 1 with reference to FIG. 17.

This example shows a mobile phone, and the outer surface of an outercasing 1010 is provided with a control section 1020 having many controlbuttons arranged thereon, an antenna 1030 formed in such a manner thatit can be set up and stowed away, a sound generating section 1040, asound detecting section 1050, and a display section 1060.

A circuit board 1001 is installed inside the outer casing 1010, and theabove-described liquid crystal device 100 is mounted on the circuitboard 1001. A liquid crystal display area in the liquid crystal device100 is constituted so as to be visible in the display section 1060. Acommunication circuit is formed on the circuit board 1001, and thecontrol buttons arranged on the control section 1020 are mounted. Inaddition, a speaker device is mounted at a position corresponding to thesound generating section 1040, and a microphone device is mounted at aposition corresponding to the sound detecting section 1050,respectively. Furthermore, a microprocessor unit (MPU) composed of adata processing circuit for realizing various functions and a memorydevice is mounted.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above-describedexamples shown in the figures, and various modifications can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the present invention, since the positions of the sealingmaterial and the anisotropic material when the substrates are bonded toeach other to form a liquid crystal panel can be accurately set and iseasily confirmed, an insufficiency or excess of the sealing material inthe joined areas between the sealing material and the anisotropicmaterial can be avoided, so that sealing defects of liquid crystal orbreaking defects of the substrates can be prevented. Therefore, inmanufacturing the liquid crystal device, a high-grade liquid crystalpanel can be constructed, and the yield of the product can be enhanced.

1. A liquid crystal device comprising liquid crystal sealed betweenfirst and second substrates bonded by a sealing section: wherein thefirst substrate comprises terminals; the second substrate compriseselectrodes; the sealing section is formed so as to surround the liquidcrystal with a sealing material and an anisotropic conductive materialjoined to each other; the terminals and the electrodes are conductivelyconnected to each other via the anisotropic conductive material; thefirst substrate is provided with a first alignment mark formed so as tobe at least partially superimposed on a joined area between the sealingmaterial and the anisotropic conductive material; and second substratesis provided with a second alignment mark opposed to the first alignmentmark through the joined area such that when the first substrate isbonded to the second substrate the sealing material is aligned with theanisotropic conductive material.
 2. The liquid crystal device as claimedin claim 1, wherein the joined area has a width substantially the sameas, or narrower than other portions of the sealing material and theanisotropic conductive material.